While I haven't experienced the "routine maintenance" you mentioned, I
did originally put a GM alternator in the stock driver's side location
on my '70 1600. This worked really well for a few days and driving to
Mt. Shasta this summer, but the alternator got too hot (from exhaust?
maybe a heat shield needed?) sitting under my uncoated header and first
overcharged the battery, spitting acid, then stopped charging
altogether. Of course, this happened at Shasta, not at home...
Did you know you can drive all the way from Mt. Shasta to Elk Grove
with a non-functional alternator? And did you know the car will still
run, albeit missing horribly and with no functioning electrical
devices, at around 9 volts? Well, I do!
--- Terry and Donna Cost <tcost@vvm.com> wrote:
> I have a 1970 Impala alternator from Auto Zone on the driver's side
> of my
> engine. It has the internal regulator. You can take the thing apart
> and
> "clock" it to get the posts in the right position. I use three or
> four
> washers and a longer bolt to line up the alternator, and I
> disconnected the
> stock regulator, running a wire straight to the + side of the
> battery, with
> a 30 amp fuse in the wire. I had my old regulator harness ground out
> at a
> TDROC meet a couple of years ago, and it wasn't fused, so the wire on
> the
> backside of the alternator toasted the ammeter and several wires
> connected
> to it. The wires from the alternator to the battery through the fuse
> box to
> the ammeter were not damaged. The ammeter became a very expensive
> fuse. I
> bought another harness and put an additional 30 amp fuse on it. I
> also
> bought a quick disconnect for the negative post on the battery. It
> has a
> green knob you unscrew and cuts all current in the car by removing
> the
> ground. If you start to see smoke leap from the car, pull the hood
> release,
> open the hood, and twist the knob, all in one coordinated,
> synchronized
> motion. Or do what I did when I didn't have the knob: Sit and watch
> the
> smoke until a fellow TDROC'er shouts "You're on fire!" Fall out the
> driver's door trying to get out, grope frantically for the hood
> release,
> search for a 1/2" (or 9/16") wrench, remove a hot terminal from a hot
> battery, then convince your friends that what happened fell under
> "routine
> maintenance". By the way, the green knob is a most effective theft
> deterrent. Take it with you when you leave the car and thieves can't
> start
> or run the car. You can use a low amp bypass fuse to keep the clock
> and
> electronic gadgets going, but starter amps will pop the fuse and shut
> everything down.
>
> Leisure Suit Terry
>
=====
Adam
'70 1600 SPL311-28181
http://www.picturetrail.com/abend
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